Rooftop owners seek restraining order to halt Wrigley signs

Owners of two rooftops overlooking Wrigley Field seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the Chicago Cubs from installing planned video boards and advertising signs. It’s the latest volley in a string of legal tussles between the two sides.

Lawyer Tom Lombardo of Park Ridge-based firm DiMonte & Lizak today filed the motion in federal court, asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the construction of signage that his clients—owners of rooftops at 3627 and 3633 N. Sheffield Ave.—believe will illegally block their views of baseball games.

The same group of owners, led by Ed McCarthy and also including Mark Schlenker and Marc Hamid, in January sued the Cubs and owner Tom Ricketts in federal court, accusing them of attemped monopolization in violation of the Sherman Act, breach of contract, defamation, consumer fraud and deceptive practices.

The legal maneuver is the motion asking the judge, Virginia Kendall, to issue a short-term restraining order until the court ultimately decides whether to issue a preliminary injunction—a step that would halt construction of the signs until the lawsuit is resolved.